Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia
Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia
Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia(CICA) is an intergovernmental security forum in Asia that was established under the guidance of Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in 1992. Seventeen states participated in the first conference in 1996. The first official CICA summit was held in 2002, and in 2006, South Korea was initiated as a member.
CICA Member States include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan. Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Vietnam, Ukraine and USA and the United Nations, OSCE and League of Arab States are observers.
The first summit of the CICA was held in 2002. The idea was proposed by Kazakhstan at the end of the Cold War and at the time of shifting geopolitics, provided a timely opportunity for the Asian nations to address modern challenges to the international peace and stability and set out the vision to tackle them.
The meeting also became a venue for intensive international mediation in Indian-Pakistani relations, with presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia and China aiming to avert the collision through statements and bilateral talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. 16 nations signed the Almaty Act, establishing the CICA and pledging to work "towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia."
At the 2008 CICA Summit, Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, Anand Sharma said in his address: "India is proud to be associated with the CICA process since its inception. It is a matter of satisfaction to us that CICA has emerged as an important forum for dialogue in Asia, offering member states an opportunity to exchange views on a broad range of issues impacting on security and stability in our region. By bringing together countries from various parts of Asia, CICA has successfully laid down a framework that will take us closer to realizing our shared vision of peace and prosperity in our region. India will continue to actively participate in the CICA. We have contributed in the drafting of the basic documents of CICA, an exercise which for us showcases the uniqueness of the CICA process, whose ultimate goal is to create a pan Asian dialogue on cooperation mechanism on security issues. We believe that we need to concentrate on simple and uncomplicated issues for cooperation and focus on CBMs that are practical and achievable and at a pace comfortable to all."
